You’ve set up your law firm’s Twitter account. Maybe you’ve even sent out a few tweets. But you’re just not getting the feedback — and followers! — you were hoping for. Your possible missing link? Hashtags (#). When used properly, hashtags can be one of the quickest and easiest ways for a lawyer to expand their online influence beyond their current pool of followers.
Using hashtags in your social media posts allows potential clients who are searching for those keywords to find your social media updates, and, therefore, find you. Once reserved for Twitter, hashtags can now also be used with Facebook and Google+. LinkedIn does not support the use of hashtags as a search tool.
Just hashtagging for the sake of hashtagging will not be effective. Read on for a few tips on how to research and discover relevant hashtags for your practice area(s).
1. What hashtags are the influencers using?
Take a few minutes to find out which hashtags the influencers in your area of law are using. You can do this by perusing their social media accounts or through the use of a tool like Twitonomy that provides you with the top 10 hashtags of any Twitter user.
2. What’s trending?
As part of your law firm’s social media strategy, it is crucial to stay on top of what topics/legal issues are trending in your practice area(s). A personal injury lawyer, for example, would want to be discussing the most recent product recall and a family lawyer would likely find success in hashtagging the latest celebrity marriage / divorce.
3. Drill down to find more specific hashtags.
You probably already have a general idea of the hashtags or keywords people are using in your area(s) of practice. But to find new, more specific hashtags, and therefore more targeted potential business, you will need to narrow your focus.
One way to do this is follow the influencers in the relevant areas. And it doesn’t just have to be another attorney. Think out of the box, to the accounts people are really paying attention to. This could be Inc.com for a startup lawyer or E!Online for a divorce attorney. For tweeting lawyers, we have a tool for you: Tweet Binder. This tool allows you to drill down on very specific hashtags and see what’s being tweeted about the suggested terms.
4. Use Twitter’s tailored trends.
Another tool for finding the most appropriate hashtag for your Twitter account is Twitter’s tailored trends. Tailored trends provides you with a limited list of topics and hashtags based both on your location and on whom you follow on Twitter. For a more general list of trends, simply click ‘Change’, and you can change your location.
5. Brainstorm
When all else fails, brainstorm! The various technological tools can be great, but they (hopefully) do not know your potential audience as well as you do. Take a few minutes each day to consider the W’s of social media marketing: who, what, where, why.
For assistance with your social media marketing needs, including a consultation on the use of hashtags in your law firm’s marketing campaign, contact the legal marketers at WebPresence, Esq. today.
